


After Effects

by Random_Nerd3



Series: Tales of Arcadia Fanfic [3]
Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Wizards (TV)
Genre: Angst, Douxie whump, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan!Angst, Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan!whump, Human Jim Lake Jr. (Tales of Arcadia), Hurt!Douxie, Hurt/Comfort, I'm not sorry, Jim Lake Jr. Is A Good Bro, Loss, Magic, Mourning, Sad, Trollhunter, Wizards SPOILERS!, Worry, archie is a good bro, hurt little comfort, poor Douxie, season one, snuggles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:07:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25789324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_Nerd3/pseuds/Random_Nerd3
Summary: A week after the battle with the Order Douxie finds himself unable to sleep. Getting stuck in a conversation with Jim, he finds he and the Trollhunter have a lot more in common than Douxie originally thought.
Relationships: Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan & Jim Lake Jr., Mentioned!Jim Lake Jr./Claire Nunez
Series: Tales of Arcadia Fanfic [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1870741
Comments: 6
Kudos: 209





	After Effects

**Author's Note:**

> I have now found my new hyperfixation. 
> 
> I binged all of Tales to prepare for Wizards and then proceeded to binge Wizards earlier today. Prepare to have an influx of Douxie angst fics because he's precious, but the angst potential is too good to pass up. Especially considering season two is pretty much cancelled at this point.
> 
> Edited (sort of).
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> R

Douxie was grateful for the Lake’s generosity. In the aftermath of the war through time and the battle against the order Doctor Lake offered her couch for as long as they needed until Douxie could travel again. The wizard sighed, knowing sleep was going to evade him for the night.Whenever he closed his eyes all he saw were flashes of Merlin dying, and when he overexerted his magic in order to protect his friends. Nari was folded up at the other end of the couch, hanging over the armrest. She was twitching in her sleep. Douxie yawned then stretched out an arm and rubbed her head between her horns. She relaxed under his touch and fell back into a peaceful sleep. Archie must’ve sensed his movements because his familiar proceeded to purr softly and curl tighter into Douxie’s chest. Unable to get up without disturbing his friends, Douxie settled for staring at the ceiling while absentmindedly running his hands through Archie’s coat. “I remember some of my earlier battles, back when being a Trollhunter was still new to me…” Jim said from behind him. Douxie twisted his head around and saw Jim,  _ human _ Jim, standing in the doorway. “I’m grateful for being able to be human again but memories are resurfacing and I just…” The trollhunter scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to say next. If Jim looked  _ that _ tired, Douxie must look like death warmed over. Then again, he did fall from a floating castle on the brink of destruction, so if anyone had a valid excuse he did. The wizard gestured for Jim to join him.

“Nightmares?” Douxie asked as Jim pulled the lazy boy chair closer to the couch and sat on it. The Trollhunter shook his head,

“Nah, just can’t sleep. How are you doing? I know it’s a lot to process, even if you  _ are _ a nine-hundred-year-old wizard. I’d say we’re here if you need us but it seems you’ve got yourself a pretty good support system.” Jim said reaching forward to scratch Archie’s back. Douxie let out a quiet chuckle,

“Yeah. Archie’s been great, so has Nari.” The wizard sighed and leaned his head back. Jim hesitated then commented,

“But you aren’t telling them everything.” Douxie sighed,

“I should’ve listened to Archie. The plan was  _ stupid _ . Sacrificing myself for the good of the world? What if I died but the Order didn’t? What would’ve happened then? Maybe Clair could’ve fought them off,  _ maybe _ , but they’re far too powerful for any human to fight by themselves.” He felt water pool into the corner of his eyes as tears threatened to fall. Jim reached forward and placed a supporting hand on Douxie’s shoulder. He looked concerned as he spoke. Choosing his words carefully Jim said,

“You had to make a hard call. One I’ve had to make before, and would do again if it meant keeping Claire and Toby safe.” Douxie looked at Jim surprised. He heard of some of the early Trollhunting stories from Toby, but with how quickly everything happened Douxie never heard the end of any of them.

“If I can ask… what happened?” Douxie wondered, hoping he wasn’t overstepping any boundaries. Luckily Jim seemed to happily oblige,

“It was a few years ago. Like I said, I was still new to the job and I thought I made the right choice. Clair’s little brother Enrique was kidnapped by a group of trolls called Changelings. They’re able to take the form of any human, so they sent a spy out to gather information about us. During my second year as the trollhunter we discovered there was a way to get into the Darklands.” A memory flashed through Douxie’s mind and he whispered,

“Killihead… and the eclipse amulet.” Jim nodded, thoughts heavy of his time spent in the Darklands.

“I thought the only way I could save my friends and protect the world I loved was to fight alone… I was wrong. Gunmar found me almost as soon as I entered the Darklands. I was held prisoner for almost half a year, forced to fight for his entertainment.” A shudder ripped through Douxie’s body at the thought of fighting something just for the sake of fighting.

“But you got out,” Douxie said, gesturing at Jim. The trollhunter nodded in response,

“My friends found a way in the end. Though, they  _ did _ end up releasing Gunmar while they did it…” Jim trailed off, lost in his memories. The two fell into a sort of comfortable silence as the sun rose over the horizon, shining light into the living room from the windows. Douxie rubbed his eyes,

“Merlin was the only family I had. I don’t know what I’m going to do without him.” Douxie admitted, still mourning the loss of his mentor. A slight smile crossed Jim’s face as Archie shook awake, licking at Douxie’s cheek.

“It seems to me you might just have more family than you think,” Jim said. He stood to leave, but Douxie grabbed his wrist before he could walk way.

“Thank you Jim Lake, for everything your family has done for mine.” Jim nodded, then wrapped an arm around Douxie’s back.

“As far as I’m concerned, we’ve both got the same family Doux. Stick around and you’ll never have to feel alone.” Douxie smiled then waved goodbye as Jim retreated back to his room. When they were by themselves again Archie stretched out his wings, one of which slapped Douxie’s face. The wizard laughed as he pulled the wing down,

“Hey Archie, stop that!” Douxie exclaimed as Archie started walking in a circle, curling back up under his wings.

“What was that about?” Archie wondered, Douxie shrugged,

“Oh just Trollhunting business. Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head with.” He insisted, patting Archie’s head as he did so. A grumbling noise escaped Archie’s throat then the cat asked in a moment of seriousness,

“Are you alright?” A slight frown crossed Douxie’s face as he remembered Merlin’s demise. Like Jim had said though, he wasn’t alone in this. He has friends, he  _ has _ a family. Nodding Douxie answered truthfully,

“Yeah Arch, I think I will be.”

**Author's Note:**

> I take requests! 
> 
> No smut, no incest, no imagines (reader insert), and no OCs that aren't mine. If I deny your request please respect my decision.
> 
> Yell at me on Tumblr: @Random-nerd-3


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